Black Cloak
by Elizabeth Ives
Summary: Alfred witnesses Arthur disappear and doesn't find him until a few months later. When found, he was severely injured and had no memory on what happened. Now in college, strange murders start to happen and they try and figure out whats going on. US x UK
1. Prologue

Hey guys! Yeah, I'm not dead! I've been working on a lot of stuff recently. Anywho, I've been reading a lot of mystery

Summary: Alfred witnesses Arthur disappear and doesn't find him until a few months later. When found, he was severely injured and had no memory on what happened. Now in college, strange things start to happen and they try and figure out whats going on.

Warnings: AU, human names, cursing, boy love  
There will probably be violence . . . hopefully. *sweatdrop*

I'm gonna try and keep this rated T by the way!

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**Prologue**

"Oi! Arthur, you have to get up here! You can see for miles!" Ten year old Alfred F. Jones called to his best friend, Arthur Kirkland, from the top of the cemetery's largest hill. A minute passed after calling to his friend and he heard no respond. "Arthur?" He called once again before racing back down the hill to see if his friend was alright.

Near the bottom of the hill, he found Arthur in what seemed like a dazed state. Alfred approached his British friend and noticed that he was staring at something with a mesmerized look. Only, there was nothing there. Concerned, Alfred placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder, "Arthur? Are you okay? What's up?"

Arthur looked at Alfred, still seeming dazed, and merely smiled at him before looking at the invisible object again. Before Alfred could do or say anything else, he was suddenly pushed away from Arthur violently. Landing on his back and feeling a few rocks dig into his skin, Alfred winced then quickly stood up to see who pushed him. After scanning the area, he found no one until he looked over at Arthur.

Right in front of the boy was a man wearing a black cloak and was covering his face with the hood. Though, Arthur seemed to take no notice of the man. "Arthur, run!" Alfred yelled, afraid that the man was going to do something horrible. But, the other blond just stood there.

The man looked at Alfred and he could have sworn that he had smirked at him. He then looked at Arthur once again and wrapped a black cloak like his. Only, he took it off of him immediately and to Alfred's horror, Arthur was gone. The man looked at the terrified boy and removed his hood. The blond gasped as he found himself staring at Arthur's face.

The man who looked like Arthur laughed and disappeared into the fog that Alfred had finally taken notice of. Scared, Alfred ran out of the cemetery and back to his home where he found his mother and Arthur's talking. He quickly ran up to her, tears now streaming down his face. "Mom! Mom!"

His mother looked at him and instantly knew something was wrong. "Alfred? What's wrong?"

"I-it, it's . . . . It's Arthur! H-he's gone!" He exclaimed.

The two mothers looked at each other with concern. "Alfred, where has Arthur gone?" his mother asked calmly.

Alfred shook his head. "I don't know! We . . . were in the cemetery and Arthur was acting funny and, and then this guy showed up and . . ." The blond became lost in words. "But he's gone! He just disappeared! And that guy! He looked exactly like Arthur!"

His mother nodded and looked at her friend. "We should call the police and report it. Alfred, why don't you go keep your brother company while we sort this out?" Alfred nodded and went into the living room to talk with his twin brother Matthew.

- - -

Two months after the incident, the police dropped the case since they had no leads and because Alfred's story made no sense. Once hearing this, Alfred took it upon himself to try and find Arthur by searching the cemetery or the woods everyday, having a feeling that he would show up at some point in those areas.

After three months, he was starting to think that his best friend was gone forever, but on that day, he had decided to check the woods. To keep his mother from getting suspicious, he brought Matthew with him, telling her that they were going to go play. While wandering the woods, Matthew, who was completely unaware of why they were there, spoke up. "Alfred? What are we doing in here?"

"I got this feeling that we're going to find something, Matt." He told his brother, calling him by his nickname. "And I think it's something good." As he said this, the two boys entered a clearing. Alfred scanned he area and a figure caught his eye. Walking closer, he found that it was a boy around his age.

"Arthur?!" He exclaimed once he got a better look at the boy's face, startling Matthew. Matthew looked at the boy and saw that it was Arthur who was unconscious. Though, the blond was barely recognizable.

His hair was tainted with dirt and what looked like dried blood? His face was scratched almost everywhere and his clothes were tattered. His right leg and arm were twisted and obviously broken. There were bruises covering the skin that was currently visible and it almost looked like his left side was severely burned.

The two boys winced in sympathy. "Matt, go get mom! Hurry, I'll stay with Arthur!" Alfred ordered while kneeling next to Arthur. Matthew ran off immediately without a word.

A few minutes passed and Arthur was still unconscious and Alfred tried shaking him slightly instead of just saying his name. This seem to work a bit since after another minute, the injured Briton stirred for a moment and then he slowly opened his eyes to find Alfred. "Al . . . fred?" His said, his voice cracking.

"Arthur! Thank god!" Alfred exclaimed, smiling. As soon as Arthur woke up though, he went right back into unconsciousness. And almost like a miracle, Alfred's mother, Arthur's mother and the paramedics came into the clearing. Alfred let the paramedics do their job and watched them carry Arthur on a stretcher.

The three of them followed, and his mother extremely relieved and Arthur's mother crying with joy now that she knew that her son was still alive.

It took several weeks, but after those weeks, Arthur had completely recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Though, he had no memory of the day he went missing or memory of what happened to him. But he could remember seeing a man in a dark cloak. Other than that, everything went back to normal and Alfred was overjoyed to have his friend back.

But something, he figured it was his newly discovered 'Hero' feeling, told him that someone, or something, was watching them.

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Yes . . . no? Maybe? Reviews will be loved!

Okay! Little contest here~  
I wanna see who can name the copy cat creature and the invisible (To Alfred that is) object! Here's a hint, they can be found in British folklore!  
Whoever gets it right is allowed one request. Whether it be for a chapter or a completely new story!


	2. Game Start

I'm so glad to have this chapter up! I'm adoring it to pieces but it was a pain in the ass to write! I wasn't writers blocked. I was just having damned computer problems. I was writing it on microsoft word and right when I was introducing Francis (France), it had to close down for some reason. I tried it three times after that and never got past the Francis introduction. As funny as that is, it was a pain.

You guys better like this chapter.

Oh! And as for the guessing thing. Well, someone did guess correctly about the cloaked creature . . . but that person doesn't have an account so I don't know who it is! " But the cloaked creature is called a Fetch. I did alter it a bit but it's still the same thing. If you want to learn more about it, google it.

And since no one guessed the other creature, I'll give you two hints. It glows and there are different versions of it around the world.

Hope that helps! Anywas, thank you to the people who reviewed! I was really excited about getting reviews cause I thought that the prologue sucked. *sweatdrop*

Okay. I'm done talking. Enjoy!

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Alfred woke to find a green sweater vest on his face. Setting the sweater aside, the blond sat up and stared at his roommate.

Arthur was digging though his dresser, throwing articles of clothing in random directions, apparently looking for something. "Arthur?" The messy blond haired student paused. "What are you doing?" Alfred asked, find Arthur's side of the room a cluttered mess.

"I'm looking for that notebook of mine. But I can't seem to find the bloody thing . . ." He replied, continuing his search.

The blond American got of bed, got dressed, then stood next to Arthur. "Are you talking about the notebook with the unicorn and fairy stickers that you always write in. Then you always tell me to go away when ever I try to read what you're righting?"

Arthur sighed, reaching the bottom of the drawer, finding no luck in find his notebook. The older blond began placing the scattered clothing back into the emptied drawers. "Yes, that's the one, have you seen it, Alfred?"

"Well . . ." Alfred began thinking trying to remember if he had seen it. "Ah! I remember! Francis has it! Apparently, you left it in the classroom the other day so he took it."

"**What!? **That bloody French bastard has _my _notebook!? I'm going to murder that wanker in the middle of the night someday!" Arthur yelled, storming towards the door, hoping to find Francis and give him a black eye . . . or two.

But, just as the Briton reached for the doorknob, the door was thrown open and hit him in the face hard enough to cause his nose to bleed. "Bonjour, mon ami~!" Francis greeted, walking in and ignoring Arthur's current state.

"Hey, Francis." Alfred said, smirking.

"Bloody hell Francis, what are you doing here!?" Arthur exclaimed, glaring at the French student and holding his bleeding nose.

"Well, I think I picked up something of yours the other day, Arthur~" he answered, holding out a notebook with, yes, unicorn and fairy stickers.

Arthur snatched the notebook quickly. "Bloody frog!"

"You have quite a lot of notes in there, mon ami. Though, most of it was in Latin. But, I couldn't help but to notice . . ." Francis leaned in close to Arthur, causing him to blush a little. "That your last entry said something about love and had quite a bit of French in it!"

The blond quickly shoved Francis away. "If you've finished your business here, then leave." He said, avoiding the subject that the French blond had brought up.

"Actually, I have one more thing to give you." Francis reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope. "A man gave this to me and said that it was addressed to you."

Arthur took the envelope and examined it. "There's no return address . . ." He muttered, curious to who could have sent him a letter. His family had moved back to England after he had went to college and would have called him to tell him something. And he had didn't really have any friends outside of the campus.

The British student pulled the letter out of the yellowed envelope and began to read it. As he read the letter, Alfred couldn't help to notice that his face went pale and confused look appeared. He then set down the paper and went over to the window. Alfred and Francis looked at each other, both curious, and read the letter themselves.

----

**Arthur Kirkland**

**How are you, Arthur Kirkland? Doing well in college? Having any trouble with . . . old injuries should I say? I do hope so, otherwise the approaching game wouldn't be as much fun. If you wonder about this 'game', you'll catch on. A little warning, keep an eye on your friends, it'll do you some good.**

**Now, have you spoken to your darling mother lately? I assume that you still love her? Have you talked to her lately? If not, then that's a shame. You'll find out why soon. In fact, why don't you look out the window and look at the surprise that I've left for you?**

**----**

After they finished reading, a crash was heard and the two looked over to find Arthur on the floor and by the looks of it, he had backed up into the small coffee table, tripped, and caused it to fall onto its side, the papers on the table scattered onto the floor. Alfred immediately went over to his roommate. "Arthur?"

The Briton was shaking, his right hand over his mouth and his emerald eyes filled with fear. "Are you okay? What happened?" The American asked, concerned. Arthur only shook his head, took his trembling hand off of his mouth and pointed at the window, unable to speak. Alfred looked at the windows, it's blinds still closed since Arthur had only peeked through them, and approached them with curiosity. Francis joined him by the window as well.

Alfred opened the blinds.

"Holy shit!" Alfred exclaimed, backing up quickly from the window.

Francis did the same and muttered, "Mon dieu . . ."

Outside was an unexpected and gruesome sight. Just as the letter had said, there was a 'surprise' for Arthur Kirkland.

Hanged by a sharp wire was Arthur's mother, Olivia Kirkland. The wire, being wrapped around her neck violently several times, had cut into the woman's neck; the wound still bleeding and the bottom of the window was splashed with her blood. To add to this scene, the poor British woman's neck seemed to be broken due to the abnormal angle that her head. Her head was drenched in blood and it was obvious that she had suffered from a severe head wound that was, like the neck wound, still bleeding quite a lot of blood.

Her skin was pale and her green eyes no longer filled the spirited soul that she once had.

Alfred couldn't stand to stare at the dead woman any longer and shut the blinds quickly. He turned to Francis. "Go tell Principal Rome. I'll try and get Arthur to calm down a bit." Francis gave the trembling, traumatized Arthur a concerned look and then nodded, leaving without a word.

With Francis gone, Alfred looked at Arthur. The Briton was in a pitiful state. His eyes were still filled with fear, shock, and sadness. The American couldn't blame the college student for being traumatized. Even a hero such as himself would be traumatized if he found his brother Matthew or his mother hanged right outside of his window.

Alfred then realized that Arthur was staring at the wall with more fear than anything else that he was showing. He followed the older blonds gaze and gasped with shock. Written on the wall in red paint, well, Alfred _hoped_ it was red paint, was a message that had not been there when he woke up.

**There is your warning.**

**I will continue killing your loved ones till you're the only one left.**

**And afterwards, you will find a message like this one describing the next one to die.**

**My next victim is a boy too curious for his own good though he tends not to show it.**

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Good, bad? Reviews will be loved!

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_Bonjour: Dear god I hope most of you know what this means. For those who don't, it means 'Hello'._

_Mon ami: My friend_

_Mon Dieu: My god._

_Olivia Kirkland: It didn't seem right to just be calling her by 'Arthur's mother' So I just picked a name after searching for some. I've read that Olivia is a popular name in England soo . . . yeah!_


	3. Sleep

So, sorry about not updating sooner. There was school stuff and band stuff . . . and pre-con stuff for me to worry about.

Anyways, here's the next chapter~ And for those who guess will-o-wisp, yes you are correct. A few people guessed and I'm too lazy to list them. You know who you are.

So, this is kind of a shortish chapter. But it has hints! Also, thank you to the people who posted reviews! They were loved~

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Alfred drank his second coffee quickly like the first one and considered going for a third cup. He usually did this when he started thinking about something. This time, it was the 'window' incident that occurred earlier that morning.

First off, it seemed to be planned so it couldn't have been a 'coincidence' like the police had said. Besides, does the fact that right when Arthur looked out the window, his mother was hanged right in front of him sound like a coincidence? No, it doesn't. It probably wasn't a suicide either. Alfred wasn't a CSI person or something like that but those wounds on Mrs. Kirkland were not self inflicted.

_But who knew that Arthur would breakdown like that . . ._ Alfred thought, making his third cup of coffee. _After that message showed up he just started crying and had a metal breakdown. Then he started muttering something. And after that, he wouldn't talk at all!_ The American looked over at the Arthur sleeping in the bed facing the wall. _At least I got him to calm down enough so that he would rest._

A knock sounded at the door and Kiku entered the room. Kiku smiled, seeing that the Briton was still asleep. "How is he?"

"Still asleep. Doesn't seem like he's having a nightmare." Alfred explained.

Kiku nodded. "We should keep an eye on him just in case."

"Sure. Thanks for helping me watch over him by the way! Once Arthur get's better, we can go to Mcdonalds to celebrate!" The American exclaimed joyfully. "Hey, why do you think Arty had such a mental breakdown? You're studying that psychology stuff right?"

"Well, it depends on the person really. You said he was muttering something? Did you hear anything that he said?" Kiku asked.

"I kinda made out some words . . . He kept on saying something about a man in a cloak."

"Hmm . . . Maybe he was reminded of something. Has Arthur-san had any problems with a man in a cloak?"

"Well . . ." Alfred started, thinking about that one time in the cemetery when they were kids. But he was just seeing things then right? He was just really scared and his mind came up with an alternative reason how Arthur disappeared. There was not freaky guy in a black cloak that looked like Arthur. Right? "No, I don't think so."

"I see. Then it's probably a different reason . . . "

The American nodded. "Yeah. I guess so . . . Hm? Kiku? What's up?" Alfred looked curiously at Kiku seeing that he was staring at the side of Arthur's bed with a puzzled look. For a moment, Alfred could have sworn that his eyes became hazy. Like when someone was hypnotized in some movie.

"Kiku? Oi! Earth to Kiku?" He said loudly, waving his hand in front of Kiku's face.

After a minute, Kiku looked at Alfred, confused. "Ah. Sorry, Alfred-san, I spaced out for a moment. What was that?" he asked.

Alfred shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

Kiku smiled and nodded. "Alright!" After saying this, he quickly glanced back at Arthur's bedside. Nothing was there. _That's odd . . . Who was that black figure standing over Arthur-san?_

_- - - - - - - - - _

Arthur kept his back to Alfred. So maybe he wasn't asleep and didn't want to sleep. Why? Because he might have nightmares.

And he was as sure as hell that he didn't want his mind to come up with something worse than this morning's incident. Actually, he couldn't remember much after that message appeared. It was like he had blacked out. But he remembered seeing a black figure in the corner of the room. And it was laughing . . . Who the bloody hell was that anyways?

He had tried to tell Alfred but he couldn't for some reason. That figure was awfully familiar to him. Arthur shuddered slightly. _I hope I don't know who that was. He was strange. Gave me an uneasy feeling he did._ Arthur thought.

The door opened and heard Kiku ask how he was. 'I must have Kiku worrying. I'll make it up to him later.' Arthur listened to his friends talk. 'So I did say something about that man!' the Briton thought after hearing Alfred mention something about him muttering a few things.

After a minute or two of listening to their conversation, the room became cold and Arthur shivered. Why did it get cold all of a sudden?

**"Hello Arthur."**

Hearing this, Arthur tensed but he couldn't move to see who it was. It wasn't Alfred or Kiku and neither of the two make any indication that there was another person in the room. The blond opened his mouth to say something but no sound came out.

**"What is it? Cat got your tongue?"** The voice chuckled. **"This reminds me of the last time we played together. Do you remember?"**

_Played together? What?_ Arthur thought confused.

The voice sighed and a dark hand reached over and covered Arthur's eyes. **"Seems you don't remember. Oh well. Good night Arthur, sleep long enough and you might find a surprise waiting for you!"**

_Wha? I-I can't see . . . A surprise? Wait . . . Don't fall asleep!_ the blond thought, trying to keep his eyes open.

_Help . . . Alfred . . ._ And with this thought, Arthur's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

The black figure standing at Arthur's bedside, who had caused him to fall asleep, stepped back and laughed. **"Sleep well Arthur" **He said with his eerie, bone-chilling voice. **"They'll all be dead before you know it~"**

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You know, something tells me that there is gonna be more horror than mystery . . . I might change it. Anyways, sorry for such a short chapter! I'll try and write something longer next time.

Oh and any speech that is in bold means that only Arthur can hear them!


	4. Cursed

Hiya guys! Yeah. So. Um. Sorry about the extremely long wait. All I can give you are the overused excuse: Finals. Finals are a bitch and they interfere with my writing. Plus, my world geography teacher is project obsessed. And I'm also sorry in advance for how freaking short this freaking chapter is! But! The next chapter **will **be super specially long, will introduce several characters, and it'll probably be up this week! Promise!

Now, enough of my rambling.

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About a month past after the 'window incident' occurred and those who knew about it or were there acted as if nothing happened. Arthur finally recovered from shock and was excused from classes so that he could attended his mother's funeral in England. Before he left, he had to promise Alfred that once he got back, he would return to the dorm and be perfectly fine as long as the window blinds closed.

So, Hetalia University finally went back to being . . . somewhat normal. Let's face it, it's not a normal school.

Although things were peaceful, Kiku couldn't help to think that something was wrong. Especially when he got near the spare bed that he let Arthur use. Every time he got near, he would feel an overwhelming dark aura. One day, while working on a large project, he even thought he heard a low, dark chuckle. So, Kiku kept his distance.

Well, until Yao and Alfred somehow managed to convince him to go drinking them. By the time Kiku had his 3rd bottle of Sake, he was drunk. Upon returning to his dorm, he didn't really care which bed he was going to sleep in, so he just happened to collapse on the 'cursed' bed.

That night, he dreamed that he was running down a corridor. He found a room and looked in to find a terrified young boy who was blindfolded. Kiku stepped into the room to untie the blindfold but then a cloaked man appeared before him. Before Kiku could ask who the man was, the figure stabbed him in the stomach, causing Kiku to wake up with a small cry.

Telling himself that it was only a dream, he calmed down. He was about to lay back down when he heard the same chuckle from the other day. Kiku looked to his right and found himself staring at the cloaked man from his dream.

Though Kiku could not see the man's face, he had a feeling that he had a childish grin. **"Hello."** the cloaked man said.

"Um. H-hello." the Japanese student replied, confused.

**"Kiku, correct?"** Kiku nodded and the man pressed his gloved hand against Kiku's chest. **"Excellent!"**

After hearing the man say this and feeling a strange feeling in his chest, Kiku blacked out. Then next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of his dorm. "Strange . . ." Kiku stated as he tried to remember how he got in the middle of his room and why he didn't have a hangover. Eventually, he figured that he had been sleep walking.

Although, he had no idea why he didn't have a hangover. The Japanese student shrugged and started to get ready for the day, not noticing that one of his collectible dagger that he hung on the wall was missing.

Just outside of the campus, a little girl and her father were looking for their lost puppy. Just as the girl thought that they were never going to find him, she spotted the puppy just down the road. "Daddy! I found him!" she exclaimed, starting to run towards the dog when her father held her back and started leading her in the other direction.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. But that's just a rabbit. Now, let's keep looking." he said, faking a smile. The little girl tried to protest but gave back. She looked back at the 'rabbit'. She knew that it was her puppy! She just knew it! But, she didn't remember her puppy having red fur. Didn't he just have white fur? And what was all the red stuff around her puppy? Ketchup?

The girl looked up at her daddy. "That was our puppy, daddy! It was! But, he'll come home by himself! Right?"

Her daddy nodded hesitantly, "Of course sweetheart."

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Before anyone jumps to conclusions, that was **not **Hanatamago! I just realized that I kind of gave the impression that it was. But it's not!

Don't kill me because this super short chapter. The next one will be longer. I mean it this time!

For those who haven't figured it out, the young boy was little Arthur. Yeah, Arthur plays a huge part in this story. Huge part.

. . . OwO

Reviews are loved to death~


	5. Ghost Stories and Weird Video Game Scene

Hahaha! I told you I would update soon! And this is by far the longest chapter I've wrote! 9 pages to be exact! So you guys won't be disappointed!

Umm . . . I really have nothing to say. Oh! I'm changing the genre from romance to suspense. There will still be a romance, it's just that there's more suspense than romance.

Okay! I'm done.

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"Arthur~!" _Crash!_

"Bloody hell, Alfred! Get off!" Arthur growled, trying to squirm out from under the taller man who just tackled him to the ground.

Alfred got off of the Brit and grinned at his roommate who was picking himself off the floor. "Welcome back, Iggy!"

Arthur shot a glare at Alfred and asked, "Was it really necessary for you to tackle to me?"

Alfred laughed. "I didn't tackle you! It's called a glomp! Kiku told me about it! He said it's a hug/tackle." he explained.

"Whatever." Arthur mumbled, throwing his bag onto his bed.

"Oh right! Kiku invited us, Francis, Mattie, Antonio, Feliciano, Lovino, Yao, Ivan, Ludwig, and Gilbert

over to his dorm to night and tell scary stories and stuff! Wanna go?" Alfred asked. Arthur raised an eyebrow at the American.

"I thought you hated scary things. Last time we watched a scary movie, you hid behind the couch after 5 minutes and refused to look."Arthur said.

"Y-yeah. But that's different! In fact, I won't get scared at all this time!" He said, proudly.

"You wanna bet?" Alfred nodded with confidence. "Alright. If you lose, you can't eat Mcdonalds or any of the crap for a month. And every Friday, you'll have to eat my cooking."

"That's evil, Iggy. But I'm gonna win! And if I do, you have switch rooms with Mattie for a month!" the American exclaimed, smirking.

"What? But that means sleeping in the same room with Francis!"

"Exactly."

Arthur glared and Alfred returned the look with a smug expression. "Deal."

Alfred jumped up cheering happily. "Yes! You are so gonna loose!"

"So we're gonna be telling scary stories right? That's it?" Arthur asked.

"I think we're gonna watch Kiku play some video game called Silent Hill." Alfred explained, looking though his closet and pulling out a small bag. "Hey, um . . . I kind of got you something while you were gone . . ."

"Eh? What for?" Arthur asked, closing his book and looking at Alfred curiously.

"Ah well . . . I saw it and I thought that it would make you happy and all . . . so . . . Here." Alfred handed the bag to Arthur. Inside the bag was a painted glass figure of a small faerie sitting on one of the petals of a red rose.

Her legs were crossed and her head was resting in the palm of her hand. She had long blond hair and she wore a long lavender dress. The faerie's expression was calm and peaceful. Her wings were painted beautifully with an very pale light blue.

Arthur looked up at Alfred with amazement wondering how the git had found something so beautiful and how he afforded it. Alfred didn't really have much money. A blush sneaked onto Alfred's face. "I-I know. It's a bit girly but you're always talking about how amazing faeries are so . . ."

"I love it." Arthur stated, cradling the glass figure.

"Huh?"

Arthur sighed, " I said, I love it."

Alfred's blush grew a bit. "O-oh. Awesome! Glad you like it!" he exclaimed, grinning.

- - - - o - - - -

Everyone arrived at Kiku's dorm at around 8. Kiku had pushed all the furniture that was in the middle of the room against the wall to make room for everyone. In the middle of the floor was a lit candle and 12 unlit candles around it. On the coffee table were glasses and several bottles of sake and whiskey and 12 glasses, one for everyone.

After everyone arrived, Kiku explained what they would be doing. "Okay, we'll be playing an abridged version of Hyaku-Monogatari. So, we light the candles and after each story we blow them out."

"Ha! This is gonna be awesome! To bad you won't be scaring me! I'm too awesome to be scared!" Gilbert claimed.

"Psh! Yeah right Gilbert! Says the guy who we had to drag into the haunted house last Halloween and then ran out screaming like a girl!" Alfred said.

"You're one to talk! You ran out of the movie theater 10 minutes after the movie started when we saw Nightmare on Elm Street! Besides, the only reason I didn't go inside was because Gilbo Jr didn't want to go! And I did not scream like a girl!"

"Anyways." Ludwig said so that Kiku could finish.

Kiku nodded to Ludwig and continued. "Right, so everyone pick a candle and light it with the candle in the middle!" he said, smiling. Everyone did so and Kiku turned of the light and then lit his own candle. "Who wants to go first?"

"I will, aru!" Yao said, grinning. Kiku nodded. "Alright. One day a woman's husband had sent her a gift of a china doll while he was traveling in the Orient, which she put in a glass case in her bedroom. The doll had lovely black hair - real human hair - and was dressed in a real silk kimono, the folds of which concealed her graceful porcelain hands.

"Soon after her husbands arrival, the woman 's doctor informed her she was going to be blessed with a child, but she had not been faithful to her husband while he was away and she was unsure the baby was his. Even if it was his, she didn't love her husband and didn't want to have the baby. So she made herself have a miscarriage, and to hide the evidence, she put the aborted fetus into the hollow interior of the china doll." Yao paused and smirked at everyone's (Minus Ivan who was grinning) disgusted faces.

"The blood of the fetus, combined with the woman's malevolence and the china doll's human hair, caused the china doll to come to 'life.' No one noticed that the china doll's hair was growing down the back of her silk kimono, that her cheeks were rosier, and that her nails were growing sharp and clawed behind the folds of her gown. The woman didn't noticed the way the doll's eyes followed her as she moved around the room, or how they glowed at night when the lights were turned off." Italy grabbed onto Ludwig's arm and Alfred was trying his best not to cling onto his brother or Arthur.

"She did sense something out of the ordinary, however, and finally insisted that the china doll be moved downstairs, out of the bedroom. After a few weeks, the woman began to lose sleep, imagining that she heard scratching, rustling, whispering noises coming from downstairs, that seemed to be calling "Mommy...Mommy." She noticed scratches on the wooden stairs, which her husband said must be from mice, but the exterminator he called said there was no sign of rodents. The woman tried to lock the china doll in a closet, but the husband protested - it had been so expensive, was such a work of art, and he wanted it out on display." Yao's voice became slightly more malevolent and dark, successfully scaring the crap out of everyone even if they didn't show it.

"Every day, there were a few more scratches on the stairs, and every day they got deeper.. and reached one step higher. One night as she tried to sleep, the woman imagined she heard scratching and rustling outside the bedroom door. She screamed for her husband to turn on the light, but by the time he fumbled out of bed, there was nothing there... except for some long shallow scratches at the bottom of the door and the faintest whisper from down the stairs. The next night the woman took several strong sleeping pills and went to bed with the door shut tight, and locked for good measure.

"She finally got some sleep... and as she slept, the china doll stirred. Opening her glass case quietly, the china doll hurried to the bottom of the stairs. Using her long sharp fingernails, she pulled herself up, one step at a time, until she was at the top of the landing. She whispered, "Mommy, I'm coming!" and made her way to the door.

"She used her talon-like claws again to climb up the door, inserted one nail into the keyhole and jiggled the lock open, then slipped around to the woman's side of the bed. The china doll used her nails like hooks to help her climb up onto the bed and then she slowly pulled the covers back to expose the sleeping woman's body. The doll's eyes glowed red as she raised her hands and then used her fingernails to claw open the woman's stomach. Near-paralyzed by drugs, pain, and terror, the woman screamed and screamed as the china doll climbed into her belly, whispering. . ." Yao paused, building tension."'Mommy, I'm home!'" Everyone shuddered (Yao could have sworn that Ivan had done so too) and Kiku got up and locked one of his own china dolls in the closet, piling random stuff on top of it. Yao blew out his candle.

"A-alright. We'll go in a circle so Ivan's next." Kiku said, gesturing towards the Russian.

"My turn, hm? Let's see . . . Oh! I have a great one, da!" Ivan grinned, in a way that was creepier than usual, and began his story, his voice in a creepier tone than usual. By the end of the story, everyone except for Ivan had slowly scooted away from the Russian and they were all cowering in a corner. Feliciano was about to cry, Gilbert was laughing nervously, Matthew and Alfred were hugging each other with a terrified look on both of their faces, and the others just looked terrified. Russia blew out his candle and everyone got back in a circle.

"Okay! Now for the awesome that is me!" Gilbert announced, setting Gilbo Jr. on his knee. "There is a tunnel under the old railroad tracks just to the west of the Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara Falls. It is known locally as the Screaming Tunnel. A path wanders through the tunnel and then up to an empty field on the hill. But the field was not always empty.

"At one time, a large farm house stood in the field at the top of the hill, and in it lived a happy family. Then one night, the house caught fire. A young daughter was trapped in the house, and the only way to escape was through a wall of flames. The brave young girl covered her face with her arms and ran into the fiery doorway. Her long hair and her long nightgown began to smolder as she burst through the flames and rushed out of the house.

"When the night air struck her smoldering clothing, it burst into flames, enveloping the girl in a raging inferno. The girl screamed in agony and ran blindly down the hill, away from the fire-stricken house. She staggered into the tunnel under the train tracks, her screams echoing and re-echoing through the night. Overcome by the flames, the girl fell to the floor of the tunnel, wailing in agony. She rolled frantically on the floor of the tunnel, trying to douse the flames, but her efforts were weak and ineffective. She was quickly overcome, and burned to death in the tunnel under the tracks.

"After that night, anyone that dares strike a match in the tunnel under the tracks will hear the agonized death screams of the burning girl, and a ghostly wind will instantly blow out the match." Gilbert blew out his candle, grinning at the fact that he actually remember that story. "Your turn, Brüder!" he said to Ludwig.

"Right . . ." The German said, clearing his throat. Once he finished his story, he blew out his candle and nudged Feliciano. Feliciano let go of Ludwig's arm and told a quick story. Of course, somewhere in the story, he mentioned pasta. After he finished, it was Lovino's turn. The Italian said something about Antonio and told his story quickly.

Next was Antonio who told a fairly long and creepy story that caused Lovino to yell at him. Next went Francis and Arthur almost walked over and strangled the Frenchman when it turned into a perverted story that involved him. Instead he threw a book at the man's face.

Now it was Matthew's turn. At first, no one was listening and Alfred had to get everyone's attention so that the Canadian could speak. Matthew cleared his throat and began. "There once was a trapper who roamed the wilds of Labrador on a sleigh pulled by eight pure white Huskies. He was a tall man, dressed in layer upon layer of animal skins, who drove his team with a terrible ferocity across the frozen tundra.

"The trapper was a cruel man, and the people in the local towns did not like him, though they tolerated his company when he came to town because of the rich animal skins he brought with him. When he came to a town, the trapper would sell his skins and then drink away his money at the local tavern. When he wasn't drunk himself, the trapper assaulted the local women, picked fights with the hard-working townsmen, and tried to sell alcohol to the natives. After a few days of such behavior, the constable would toss the trapper out on his ear. Then the trapper would resume his roaming and trapping until he came to another town.

"No one knows exactly how the trapper met his fate, although it was rumored that he went a little too far in his pursuit of a local innkeeper's fair wife and was shot to death by her disgruntled husband. Other folks say he lived to an old age and died out on the trail. But it swiftly became clear that death did not end the roaming of the cruel trapper.

"Each winter, the trapper's ghost roams the wilds of Labrador on a sleigh pulled by eight white Huskies. They say that his spirit was refused entry into heaven and remains forever in Labrador, atoning for the many sins he committed during his lifetime by helping lost travelers find their way home. Many a weary soul has looked up from their frantic circling to see a large sleigh pulled by white dogs coming toward them. If they follow it, they are led to safety.

"Once a lost trapper found himself caught in a terrible blizzard, far from the nearest town. As he sought in vain to find a place to shelter from the storm, the phantom trapper appeared with his sleigh. Animal skins flapping in the raging wind and blinding snow, the phantom tenderly lifted the nearly-frozen man, placed him among the rugs on his sleigh, and drove the dying trapper to the nearest town. The phantom carried the man right into the inn, placed him gently on a chair by the door, summoned the innkeeper to care for the man, and then vanished right before the astonished innkeeper's eyes."

Up next was the American who was being teased by Arthur since he had already gotten scared at least 4 times. "Alright! This is gonna be awesome. More awesome than yours Gilbert." he said, smirking at the Prussian (He's really German but he always denies the fact and claims that he's full blood Prussian). "The reports had been on the radio all day, though she hadn't paid much attention to them. Some crazy man had escaped from the state asylum. They were calling him the Hook Man since he had lost his right arm and had it replaced with a hook. He was a killer, and everyone in the region was warned to keep watch and report anything suspicious. But this didn't interest her. She was more worried about what to wear on her date.

"After several consultation calls with friends, she chose a blue outfit in the very latest style and was ready and waiting on the porch when her boyfriend came to pick her up in his car. They went to a drive-in movie with another couple, then dropped them off and went parking in the local lover's lane. The blue outfit was a hit, and she cuddled close to her boyfriend as they kissed to the sound of romantic music on the radio.

"Then the announcer came on and repeated the warning she had heard that afternoon. An insane killer with a hook in place of his right hand was loose in the area. Suddenly, the dark, moonless night didn't seem so romantic to her. The lover's lane was secluded and off the beaten track. A perfect spot for a deranged mad-man to lurk, she thought, pushing her amorous boyfriend away.

'Maybe we should get out of here,' she said. 'That Hook Man sounds dangerous.'

'Awe, c'mon babe, it's nothing,' her boyfriend said, trying to get in another kiss. She pushed him away again.

'No, really. We're all alone out here. I'm scared,' she said.

They argued for a moment. Then the car shook a bit, as if something…or someone…had touched it. She gave a shriek and said: 'Get us out of here now!'

'Jeeze,' her boyfriend said in disgust, but he turned the key and went roaring out of the lover's lane with a screeching of his tires.

They drove home in stony silence, and when they pulled into her driveway, he refused to help her out of the car. He was being so unreasonable, she fumed to herself. She opened the door indignantly and stepped into her driveway with her chin up and her lips set. Whirling around, she slammed the door as hard as she could. And then she screamed.

Her boyfriend leapt out of the car and caught her in his arms. 'What is it? What's wrong?' he shouted. Then he saw it. A bloody hook hung from the handle of the passenger-side door." Alfred blew out his candle and grinned proudly.

Arthur scoffed. "You call that scary? My younger brother is scarier than that!"

"Oh yeah? We'll, let's see you tell a scary story!" Alfred retorted.

"Maybe I will!" Arthur cleared his throat. "Back in the 1980s when red phone boxes were everywhere in England, the Wombles were number three in the charts, and Sylvester McCoy was Doctor Who . . ." The group gave Arthur an odd look but the Brit ignored them. "A young would-be actress went to an audition for a kid's math show. While waiting to go in, she got into a heated argument with one of the other actors about how appropriate her neck-line was for a kid's show. She was upset but it didn't hurt her performance.

"She wasn't successful, but then three weeks later the studio called and asked if she'd like to take the job after all. The first choice presenter had died in what they would only describe as 'a bizarre accident in a phone box'.

"She did six hours work, which consisted of chanting about math formulas and cutting bits of paper into squares. The show was such rubbish that it never aired, but she made an impression on the management, and went on to work on BBC kids shows including 'Blue Peter'.

Eight years later the girl had been married then divorced and had two kids. Her boy was about five and she also had a baby girl. She was staying at home with the children one evening when she heard a bizarre news story: a body had been stolen from a nearby graveyard and she recognized the name of the corpse but couldn't remember where from.

She was pondering this when the phone rang, and a voice at the other end said: 'The curse was mine and now it's yours, cutting souls up into scores.' Unsurprisingly, this freaked her out a bit.

Knowing that there was very little she could do about a prank call, she went upstairs and checked on her kids in their separate rooms, then made a cup of tea and watched some more TV.

The phone rang again, and this time the voice said 'Cutting the squares, cutting the squares; One by one, one by one.' This really freaked her out, being a direct quote from the math show she'd done all those years ago. She immediately realized who that missing body was, the man whose place she'd taken. She hung up the phone and tried to dial 999 for the police when she heard her little boy scream. As she ran up the stairs the voice at the other end of the phone said, 'Cutting the squares, cutting the squares; Two by two, two by two.'

In her baby's room was a cot full of what looked like steak tartar… in perfect 1cm x 1cm cubes.

In her boy's room the bed was also filled with perfect cubes of fresh meat, this time 2cm x 2cm. As she looked at this horrific sight, she spotted one of her little boy's eyes staring back at her from a square of flesh.

She raced away from the manic laughter on her own telephone outside and into a red box, as she lifted the handset a voice said, 'Cutting the squares, cutting the squares; one by one, two by two; now who's next? how about you!' At which point the glass in the phone box imploded, cutting her into perfect 3cm x 3cm cubes.

The next day the body of the man who's place she'd taken was returned to its grave site. Although it was clear that they'd got the right body back, the mortician who examined it was still highly perplexed by it's appearance. When the man had been buried originally he'd been so mutilated they'd had to identify him by dental records, and now he seemed whole and near-perfectly preserved, except for the strange lines of scars, making a grid of perfect 4cm x 4cm squares all over his skin." After finishing, Arthur blew out his candle. Hearing this chilling story, everybody was silent and a small smirk crawled onto Kiku's face though it was barely noticeable due to the lack of lighting.

Gathering the group's attention, Kiku cleared his throat. "I believe it's my turn." Kiku told his story and explained what should happen after he blows out his candle. "After I blow out my candle, a ghost is suppose to appear. We have to wait at least 10 minutes." With that, he blew out the candle, causing the room to become pitch black.

5 minutes passed and nothing happened. Everyone could tell that Gilbert was getting bored. Arthur let his eyes wander around the room when something attracted his attention to one of the corners of the room. The area was darker than the rest of the room that's for sure.

Arthur tilted his head and something told him that what ever was over there was smirking. A pale hand appeared and it pointed at him. That's when Arthur had some sort of vision. His younger self was running down an extremely long hallway. Young Arthur continued to run when he ran into a cloaked man. _'It's that cloaked man again!_' Arthur thought, watching his other self look up at the man with fear.

"Arthur!" Alfred yelled in the Brit's ear, pulling Arthur out of his thoughts.

"Bloody hell, Alfred! Are you trying to make me go bloody deaf!" Arthur growled, also realizing that the lights were turned on.

"You spaced out."

"I was thinking!" Arthur stated, glancing over at the corner to find that the weird dark thing was gone. "Alfred, I need to talk to you. Come here." Arthur said, dragging the American out of Kiku's dorm.

"So what's up, Iggy?" Alfred asked.

"I'm not really sure. But something weird is going on here." Arthur said.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I keep on seeing this cloaked man! It's strange. I think I just saw him in Kiku's room and I'm pretty sure I saw him at my mother's funeral. But no one seems to notice him but me." Arthur explained.

"Maybe you're imagining things?" Alfred pointed out.

Arthur shook his head. "I don't think so."

The door to Kiku's room opened and Francis stuck his head out. "Umm. Arthur? Excusez-moi. But, I think you should come in here and see this."

"What is it, frog? You look like you just saw a ghost." Arthur said, pushing past the Frenchman and walking into the room. "So what's going on?"

"Dude, Arthur. You're in this freaking video game." Gilbert said, pointing at the TV. "Well. It's sort of you. More like a younger version of you."

"What?" Arthur stared at the TV. What Gilbert said was true, it was a younger version of him. The boy was being dragged by a man in a black cloak. Coincidence? I think not. This was starting to get freaky. That's when the scene replayed. "Is it suppose to be replaying?" Arthur asked.

Kiku shook his head. "Yeah. We've been playing it over and over to make sure we were actually seeing this . . . plus, I think you should hear what they're saying." Kiku un-muted the TV.

"Let go of me!" The boy said.

"Bloody hell he even sounds like me." Arthur muttered.

"I said let go! Where am I? Where's my mum? And Alfred? What did you do with Alfred?" The younger Arthur asked. Arthur looked at Alfred who had turned pale. The black cloaked man did not respond and the scene continued to play. "Answer me!" The boy exclaimed before being thrown into a white room.

"**Be a good boy and stay there." **the figure said. After that, the scene cut out and went back to the starting screen.

"Okay. That was fucking weird." Lovino said, Feliciano and Antonio agreeing.

"Maybe you were right, Arthur." Alfred said. "Things are starting to get pretty weird." Everyone nodded, agreeing with the American.

"Um. Never speak of this to anyone else?" Yao said. Again, everyone nodded.

* * *

I have to admit, after writing this for 5 hours straight, I started to get jumpy. So what's gonna happen next? You guys should guess and give me inspiration. ;D

Excusez-moi: Pardon me

Hyaku-Monogatari: Hyaku means hundred and Monogatari mean tale. In the original version, you're suppose to have 100 people and 100 candles. But most of the time, people just do an abridged version with less people. I've heard that this is usually played during the summer.

I got the ghost stories from searching Google. The only reason why I didn't write out the stories that Ivan, Feliciano, Lovino, Antonio, Kiku, and Francis told was because I couldn't find any from their country! Gilbert is telling a ghost story from Canada which is also from the Ontario province which I believe is where New Prussia is in. So it works! As for Yao's, I'm not even sure if it's a ghost story from China but I used cause it was creepy and it had a china doll in it. Here are the names of the stories if anyone is curious!

Yao's Story - The China Doll

Gilberts Story - The Screaming Tunnel

Matthew's Story - The Trapper's Ghost

Alfred's Story - The Hook (I read this and I was like . . . AMERICA! XD )

Arthur's Story - Cutting the Squares

Also! Since there was a Doctor Who reference, I wanna see who's a fan like moi! So if you're a fan, tell me in your review, please! If you do, you get one free trip on the TARDIS! 8D


	6. Time to Get Serious

Yes! Finally updated. I have a proper excuse too! One, I was doing homework for AP World! It was a bitch to finish.

Okayyyy. A few announcements! I'm bumping up the rating. Something tells me that this'll get a bit . . . bloody. So yeah. Also, if I get a whole bucket load of reviews, I'll start writing in a bit more USxUK moments! Deal?

Okay. I'm done rambling. Here is your chapter!

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"Alright Yao! I'm going to get some dinner. I'll be back in an hour, da?" Ivan said, heading for the door.

"Alright, aru! I'll be here when you get back. I'll only be at the library for a couple of minutes." Yao answered.

_- Two hours later -_

"I'm back." Ivan said, walking through the door with Chinese take-out in hand. "Sorry it took so long . . . Hm? He must still be at the library." he stated, realizing that his friend wasn't in the room.

"I told you Alfred, we can't skip classes to find the cloaked man!" Arthur said to Alfred, carrying several heavy books.

"Why not? I'm sure the teachers wouldn't mind!" the American responded, pulling out the key to their dorm.

"And what are we going to tell them? That we're searching for a suspicious and possibly dangerous man that I keep seeing out of the corner of my eye?" Arthur asked sarcastically.

"That's stupid Artie. And you thought I came up with dumb ideas!" Alfred opened the door and rushed inside. Two steps inside, the American tripped and landed on his face. "Ow."

Arthur sighed and picked up the object on the floor. "Alfred, do you own a china doll with a red kimono?" he asked, examining the doll.

Alfred stood up and looked at the doll. "Nope. Maybe it's Yao's. He likes collecting those kind of things."

"Then why's it in here . . .?" the Englishman murmured, noticing a small note on the floor. He set the doll down and picked up the note. Alfred read over Arthur's shoulder.

'You're wasting time Arthur. Why are you arguing with Alfred when you could be saving your dark haired friend that owns this doll? He's quite an interesting fellow. Very intellegent.'

Alfred and Arthur looked at each other. "Yao!" The two quickly ran out of the dorm and down the hall to Yao and Ivan's room. Arthur knocked on the door and Ivan answered.

"Ah. Arthur, Alfred. I thought you were Yao, da? Have you seen him lately? He said he'd be in the library a few minutes but that was three hours ago!" Ivan said.

"You mean he's not here?" Arthur asked, becoming worried. Ivan shook his head.

"Crap! Ivan, something's going to happen to Yao. You said he was in the library right?" Alfred exclaimed. Ivan nodded and the three ran over to main building where the library was.

_'Let's hope we're not too late . . .'_ Arthur thought as they approached the library doors. Before reaching said doors, the Englishman noticed that the door to the courtyard was open. "Hey . . . Aren't the doors to the courtyard locked at night?" He asked, stopping.

Alfred and Ivan stopped as well. The three cautiously walked outside and scanned the area which was still lit by the old fashion lanterns. Why they still had those, Arthur had no idea. Finally, Alfred spotted Yao sitting under a tree.

"Found him!" he exclaimed, running towards their friend. Arthur and Ivan rushed over as well.

Now that they were close up, the three paled. Yao's shirt was cut open and his stomach had been cut open, some organs had spilled out. All three students were shocked. "I think I'm going to be sick . . ." Arthur muttered, closing Yao's open eyes.

Alfred dialed 911 and Ivan knelt next to his best friend. Arthur sat on the other side of Yao and gave a silent prayer for their deceased friend. After the blond finished, he noticed another note in Yao's hand. Arthur took the note and read.

_'My, my. I guess you forgot that I was going to be killing people, hm? I hope you try and make this game a bit more interesting. It's so boring killing people when nobody is going to do anything about it!_

_You have a week to catch me little boy! But if you can find out who my next victim is before then, I'll keep them alive! Do we have a deal?_

_You're probably wondering who I'm going to attack next. Hmm . . . Let's try the 3rd person who talks to you tomorrow! I'll give you three tries. If you don't find out after the third guess. The victim dies!'_

Arthur growled. _'He's toying with me! Bloody hell this is too easy!'_ he thought, standing up and putting the paper in his pocket. Arthur glanced at Yao hesitantly; he couldn't stand blood anymore. He looked away quickly and walked back to his dorm feeling exhausted and almost guilty for his friend's death.

Plus, he knew that the police wouldn't count this as a suicide. That meant they would be investigating all day tomorrow and would probably interrogate Arthur and a few others that knew Yao. He needed all the sleep he could get.

The next day, everyone who knew Yao well was depressed. Anyone who wasn't familiar with the Chinese student could tell that the next few days could be depressing. Arthur and Alfred woke up early that day for some reason. The two got ready and Arthur found that he had to change in the bathroom again.

Alfred had been making him do so for several weeks but wouldn't say why. He also blushed slightly when he said this.

After taking a quick shower and changing, Arthur returned to the room to find Francis and some other boy. He'd seen him before but couldn't quite remember who he was.

"Bonjour mon cher!" Francis greeted. The other boy nodded shyly.

"Call me that again and I'll throw you out the window into the tree." Arthur growled, obviously in a horrible mood.

"That'd be interesting. I think I'd let you get away with that Artie!" Alfred said, trying not to let last night get to him. When Alfred was depressed, everyone is depressed.

"Awww. Don't be like that, Arthur! Besides, don't you want some tips for when you and Alfred are alone~?" Francis asked, leaning towards Arthur smirking.

Both Alfred and Arthur blushed. "Bloody frog!" the Englishman yelled, throwing a well aimed punch towards Francis. With that, the two started fighting. Alfred merely smirked and watched the two while the other boy wondered if he should stop them.

"U-um . . . C-can you guys stop fighting please?" the boy said. But neither Francis or Arthur heard the blond address them. They were too busy fighting.

Alfred patted him on the shoulder. "Let them fight, Mattie. They do this all the time."

Matthew nodded. "Okay."

* * *

There you have it. Chapter #5. It's a bit short. I know. I'm sorry.

So. WHO WAS THE THIRD PERSON HMMMM? *serious face*

Anyways. I love reviews guys! They help me write longer and better chapters!

Next update . . . Not till after this week! I HAVE BAND CAMP. 8D


	7. Sound the Alarm

Hello everyone! I'm still alive and well. I've just been super busy with band, homework, my audition for Midsummers Night Dream, etc. But here's the next chapter! Yay! *cue applause*

So yeah. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and stuff! You're all awesome.

Okay, so this first part is in Arthur's pov and after that it's third person. And anything that looks like **'this' **is text. Just a little heads up for you guys. Oh! And for those who are interested, I started a blog that just kind tells you guys when there are going to be updates and maybe some of my own original work and sneak peeks and such.

Anyways! Here is your chapter~

* * *

Fire. Golden yellow and orange as far as the eye could see. The heat was unbearable. How am I still **alive**? This had to be a dream. Right?

I searched frantically for a way out of this field of flames that I ended up in. Suddenly I heard a cry for help. Was it myself? No . . . it wasn't my voice. Who's voice then?

I turned toward the direction the scream came from only to come face to face with the black cloaked figure.

The flames disappear; replaced by a room of darkness. The cloaked man was practically invisible. Though I could not see his face, I could tell that he was smirking deviously.

"W-who are you?" I asked, unable to prevent a stutter. "What do you want from me?"

The figure chuckled darkly, funny how it sounded familiar. "Me? I would like your death, Arthur Kirkland. You're not supposed to be alive."

"What do you mean? Why me? You've killed enough!" I exclaimed, still trying to figure out why his voice was so familiar.

"Of course. You wouldn't remember, it's natural fro humans forget traumatizing memories." the figure said.

I growled, "Just who the bloody hell do you think you are!"

An eerie silence settled, as if the cloaked man was thinking over the question. "You mean you haven't figured it out, Arthur?" he asked, making his voice loud and clear.

My eyes widened as I finally figured out who's voice that was. "No . . . No, that's impossible!" I muttered in disbelief.

The cloaked figure reached up and slowly pulled his hood off. My legs buckled and collapsed underneath me. Dirty blond, ruffled hair, shining yet dark and sinister emerald eyes, and those unmistakable eyebrows. He was-

"I am you."

Arthur woke, screaming under tousled blankets. And even after he registered that it was just a dream, he didn't stop screaming. Alfred bolted into the room, rushing to his side and hugging him. "Shh . . . Arthur, calm down. Everything's alright. It was just a dream." the American cooed, tracing patterns on his back to help calm the Brit.

Arthur finally stopped screaming and buried his face into Alfred's chest, crying silently. "There, there." Alfred said calmly. "It's okay." Arthur gave a weak nod and eventually went back to sleep.

The American smiled and laid the Brit down and sat at his bedside, soon falling asleep as well.

When Arthur woke up again, he found himself curled up against someones chest. That someone being Alfred F. Jones. Still to tired to get up but not wanting to go back to sleep, the blond just laid there, taking in Alfred's scent of coffee, wood smoke, and those blasted Mcdonalds hamburgers he loved so much. Though he wouldn't admit it, the smell was calming and Arthur would take every chance he got to lay next to the American like he was now.

Then Arthur thought of his nightmare. _'It was just a dream after all . . . wasn't it? But seeing that the cloaked figure has been frequently for the last 2 months, there's a high chance that it meant something.'_ the Brit thought, staring at the ceiling. Looking at the clock now and seeing that it was almost 10, the Brit got out of bed carefully and grabbed some clothes from his suitcase.

It was officially the first day of their winter break and Alfred convinced Arthur, Francis, Kiku, and – What was his name? Oh yeah. – Mathew to spend the break in a lodge his father owned from inheritance just outside a small town in the Rocky Mountains. Luckily, the old lodge was heated and had electricity, though unfortunately nobody had a signal on their cell phone inside of the house.

Arthur put on the long sleeved t-shirt and pair of jeans he grabbed and walked out of the room. The house was silent since everyone else was asleep after arriving at around 1 in the morning. The blond walked into the kitchen in hope of finding some tea, but knowing Alfred, it'd be doubtful. Searching through the cabinets, he discovered his predictions correct and only found coffee and instant hot chocolate.

Arthur sighed and decided to make a cup of hot chocolate. Once the hot drink was done, Arthur leaned against the counter and looked out the window, sipping the hot chocolate slowly. _'I have a few days left.'_ he thought in frustration. _'Who'll be next? And how the bloody hell am I going to find out?'_ Again, the Brit sighed and took another sip, only to spit it out in the sink next to him out of surprise.

The flavor and texture of the drink had changed; it was sweeter and thicker. Arthur stared at the contents in the cup which was now a golden light brown color. He sniffed the new substance. "Maple syrup? The hell?" Arthur blinked and rinsed out the cup, unable to decipher how his hot chocolate had turned into maple syrup. In the end, he concluded that it was the faeries doing. "Bloody tricksters . . . " he muttered.

About to leave the kitchen,something outside caught Arthur's attention. Outside in the snow was Kiku, wearing one of his traditional kimonos, and cleaning his beloved katana that he brought along in the snow. It wouldn't have concerned Arthur if it was just that. But why would Kiku be cleaning his katana in the first place? _'Is that __**blood**__?'_ he thought, gaping at his Japanese friend though the window.

Again, Arthur blinked and headed out of the room, muttering about getting more sleep. Before he reached the hall, something pushed him, causing him to stumble and let out a cry of surprise. Regaining his balance, the Brit turned around quickly to scold the person who shoved him but only found the room to be empty. Arthur shivered and raced down the hall into the bedroom.

Upon entering the room, Arthur found Alfred awake and sitting up in the bed. "Morning Artie!" he greeted cheerfully, putting on his glasses.

'Artie' scowled at being called that name. "Good morning Alfred."

"Hope you slept well after that nightmare. You want to talk about it?" the American asked.

'If I tell him, he'll just worry even more.' Arthur told himself. "It was nothing," he lied. "I can't remember anyways."

Alfred shrugged. "Okay. Hey, go wake the others up! I'll go make breakfast!" he exclaimed, jumping out of bed ( Good thing he wears sweatpants to bed ) and rushing out of the room. The Brit growled, seeing that he was the one who had to wake up Francis. "That frog better be awake." he muttered, leaving the room.

Heading down the hall towards Francis' room, he found Mathew awake and told him that Alfred might burn the house down. In turn, caused the twin to hurry downstairs, pet polar bear slowly following. Arthur entered Francis' room and had an idea when he saw the snow piled on the deck that was connected to Francis' room. Smirking, Arthur left the room and grabbed a shovel that just happened to be by the front door.

After retrieving the object, he went back into Francis' room and quietly opened the door to the deck. The Brit shoveled some snow; enough to carry inside and cover his victim.

Carefully, the Brit walked over towards the sleeping Frenchmen and dumped the snow right onto his face. To Arthur's delight, Francis woke up and managed to fall out of bed, still covered with the now melting snow. Arthur laughed at the event and received a snowball to the face.

Wiping his face off with his sleeve, he growled at the smirking Frenchmen. "Bloody frog!" He yelled, scooping up some half-melted snow and throwing it at Francis.

Eventually, the fight turned into a 'see who can keep the other down' competition. Alfred soon walked into the room and shook his head. "Okay, okay. Break it up!" Alfred said, pulling Arthur off the other.

"Aw. But we were just getting started, oui, mon petit lapin?" Francis said, winking at Arthur before he stood up.

Arthur scowled and chose not to answer. "As much fun as it is to watch you two fight, can you guys make nice for a day?" Alfred asked.

Just then, there was a loud yelp from down stairs, causing the three college students to hurry downstairs. In the kitchen, Mathew was cradling his right hand and placing it under running water.

"Mattie!" Alfred hurried over to his brother. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine, Alfred. Something just surprised me and I accidentally touched the burner. It's not too bad." he said, turning off the water. The back of his hand was burned and red. The odd thing about it that Arthur noticed was that the burn was in the shape of an odd pattern; but only for a split second before it looked like a normal burn. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows together with confusion.

"I'll get some bandages." Francis said, going to the bathroom and then returning with some bandages.

After tending to the wound, Francis decided to cook breakfast, or lunch seeing that it was almost 12. The other three sat in the living room. "Wow. Kiku's still asleep? Must have been tired." Alfred stated, turning on the TV.

Just as Arthur opened his mouth to say something about seeing Kiku outside, the Japanese student came in wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants. "Good morning everyone." Kiku greeted, sitting down next to Arthur. _'Alright. So I didn't see Kiku outside earlier.'_ Arthur thought. _'Besides, I would have seen him or heard him come inside. I must have been seeing things.'_ he concluded._ 'And that mark . . . It kind of looked Celtic. I'll have to check after breakfast.'_

Arthur then felt Alfred poke him in the cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Hello! Earth to Arthur!"

"Huh? Sorry, what were you saying?" Arthur asked, confused.

"We're going to go skiing and stuff after breakfast! You gonna come?" the American said with a childish grin.

"I don't know how to ski." Arthur admitted. "Or snowboard for that matter. I'll just stay here."

"Aww! Come on! Please?" Alfred begged, trying to look as cute and innocent as possible. Unfortunately, he succeeded.

Arthur, who could never resist saying 'no' to the American when he was like that, sighed. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I'll ski or anything!"

"Yay!" Alfred exclaimed gleefully. "This is going to be so awesome!"

After breakfast, the five boys headed out to the ski resort that wasn't too far from where they were staying. Alfred payed for everything. How he had been able to save up so much money, Arthur would never know. Francis, Alfred, Mathew, and Kiku all went to go gear up while Arthur stayed inside the main lodge.

He sat near a window because Alfred wanted him to be able to watch him 'be awesome'. Arthur had brought along his laptop to see if he could do some research on a few things. First, he went to Google and searched 'Celtic Symbols', starting with his first guess. He knew that it was from an ancient language, he just didn't know which one.

Arthur clicked on the first link that came up, hoping that it would show him what he was looking for. Luckily, the website had a Celtic symbol chart. He looked through the chart carefully until he came across the fire symbol. Which seemed to resemble the mark that was on Mathew's hand. Arthur click on the link to get a better look at it.

At the bottom of the page was a list of links. One in particular said, 'Fire symbol in Gaelic'. Seeing that Celtic and Gaelic were somewhat similar, the Brit clicked on the link. Once it had loaded, Arthur grinned, feeling accomplished. The Gaelic symbol was an exact match. "Now we're getting somewhere . . ." he muttered.

_'So. The symbol means fire. Which would make since seeing that Mathew got burned. Come to think of it, Mathew does like maple syrup. So did that make him the next target?'_ As Arthur pondered over this, Windows Live Messenger opened up a chat. Arthur blinked, wondering who would send him a message; he only used the program to talk to Alfred and sometimes Gilbert. The user was unknown, the email wasn't shown and there was no picture. The blond waited for this unknown person to post. Eventually, the person wrote, **'Looks like you finally figured it out.'**

Arthur raised an eyebrow and typed, **'Who is this?'**

**'You know, you have very interesting screams.' **the person typed, **'It's been awhile since I've heard you scream like that. Last night was fun wasn't it?'**

The Brit's eyes widened. **'You! The guy with the cloak!'**

**'Very good!'**

**'What do you want from me?'**

**'Don't you remember the dream?'**

**'Yes. But why are you killing my friends?'**

**'All in good time, Arthur, all in good time. Anyways, now that you know who I'll be going after next, you'll have to keep them from dying. And, if you want this all to stop, then all you have to do is send a message on here saying that you'll give your life away to me!'**

With that, the cloaked man logged off and Arthur growled thinking, _'Who is he!'_

After an hour or so, Kiku announced that he didn't feel so well so they went back to the lodge. As Kiku and Mathew went inside, Alfred declared a snowball fight on Arthur who then dragged Francis in. After about 30 minutes of attacking each other with snowballs, the three went inside and Alfred noticed something.

"Is something burning?" The three looked at each other and ran towards the kitchen, finding the room on fire and the flames moving towards them quickly.

"I'll go get Mathew and Kiku!" Arthur said, running down the hallway. First he went into Kiku's room, finding it empty and the window opened. Figuring that Kiku had noticed the fire and escaped out the window, Arthur went to Mathew's room. The door was locked, odd since the doors didn't have locks.

Looking down the hall, he saw the flames heading this way. Panicking, Arthur took a step back and ran into the door with his shoulder. Lucky for him, the door gave in. The Brit ran into the room to find Mathew handcuffed to the bedpost and gagged.

Arthur removed the cloth. "Th-thanks." Mathew said.

"No problem. Do you know where the key is?" Arthur asked quickly, hearing the roaring of the flames get closer.

"No." Mathew shook his had. "I woke up like this."

Arthur cursed and searched the room, looking for something to pick the lock or break the handcuffs. Finding nothing useful, the Brit cursed again.

"Arthur! Try breaking the bed post. The wood is old so it shouldn't be too hard!" Mathew suggested. Arthur nodded and began kicking the wood as best as he could.

The flames started to spread into the room, making it hard to breath with all the smoke. The room grew hotter, Arthur started to hope that Mathew would slip out of the handcuffs. But he highly doubt it. The flames licked the bedpost at the other end and Arthur noticed that the wood wasn't burning.

_'How . . .? If the objects aren't burning then how is there smoke? I wonder . . maybe it only burns living things.'_ he thought, still working on the wood. "Fuck . . ." Arthur muttered, kicking the wood even harder, causing the post to crack and split. "Almost!" The Brit kicked the post once again, the wood finally breaking off. "Finally!" he exclaimed before coughing violently from the smoke intake.

By now, Mathew had fainted from the smoke and intense heat. And maybe from hyperventilation. Arthur picked up his friend and carried him bridal style. "Bullocks!" Arthur ran though the fire quickly towards the window.

Without thinking, Arthur jumped though the window, breaking the glass and landing in a pile of snow that felt good to the touch. Arthur collapsed from exhaustion and rolled onto his back, coughing and gasping.

Alfred and the others ran up to the two, Francis picked up Mathew and Alfred carried Arthur. Kiku was calling 911. After putting some distance between the burning yet not burning lodge, Alfred handed the exhausted blond over to Kiku while he got the truck so that they could wait for the ambulance. While they were waiting, Arthur fell asleep.

The ambulance arrived an hour later ( They had been stalled by a brief snowstorm ) and checked the two blonds for injuries. After the check up, they announced that there were a few minor scratches and first degree burns but nothing fatal or anything that would need being tended to at the hospital. They also told them that it was a miracle that they didn't have anything worse and that they would have to drink lots of water and get some rest.

"You said they got caught in a house fire?" One of the paramedics asked.

Alfred nodded. "Yeah! I don't know how it started. The stove must have been on or something!"

"Did the firefighters already put it out?"

"Huh? No . . .?" Alfred gave the older a confused look.

"Well, doesn't look like there's a fire anymore. Hell, it doesn't even look like there was a fire in the first place!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards the lodge. The paramedic was right. The fire was gone and the building wasn't burnt to the ground. Even the broken window was fixed!

"But . . How? It was there! How would they have . . . ?"

"I believe you kid, if there wasn't a fire, those two wouldn't be injured." The man sighed. "The fire department isn't going to believe this . . ."

The paramedics left after calling the firefighters that were on their way and explaining what happened. Once they were gone, Alfred and Mathew were still asleep and were taken inside to rest. What surprised Alfred still was that everything was as it was before the fire. He decided to put it aside and laid Arthur down in his bed.

The American smiled at the calmly sleeping Brit and then looked around to see if anyone was around before kissing Arthur lightly on the forehead then leaving the room.

* * *

And so the plot thickens! So, review and stuff and I'll start on the next chapter as soon as possible, deal?

Oui: Yes

Mon petit lapin: my little rabbit

Did anyone notice the slight USxUK? 8D If you did, then maybe you didn't see the slight onesided FrUk?


	8. I Have You Now

Hello all! Here is the update you've all been waiting for!

I'm not going to talk much, I just want to answer a question that was asked in one of the reviews. I was asked why Arthur didn't know the Celtic fire symbol in the first place.

Well! I made it so that he didn't know so that I could use the idea that I had. But now that I think about it, it wouldn't have mattered. And I guess a reason why he didn't know it would be because he didn't live in England very long before he moved to America? I don't know. ^ ^;;

* * *

Alfred quietly left Arthur's room, hoping that no one somehow saw what he just did. He has kept his crush on Arthur a secret for several years and he didn't want someone, especially Francis, to find out now.

"You love him, non?"

Alfred jumped and turned around quickly to find Francis leaning against the wall. The American sighed and put on his best grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Francis smirked and shook his head, stepping towards Alfred. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Has anyone told you that you're a horrible liar?" he said, laughing at the pouting expression that Alfred made. "You love our troubled Englishman don't you?"

Alfred nodded. "Yeah . . . Just don't tell anyone! Got it?"

"Your secret is safe with moi, mon ami~!" The Frenchman said, patting Alfred's shoulder before heading towards his own room. Alfred watched Francis leave then sighed before heading towards his room.

Matthew was the first to wake up the next day. Francis was by his side when he did and was so relieved that he pulled the injured blond into a tight hug. He stopped as soon as he realized that Matthew was in pain.

Arthur woke up a few hours later when Alfred came in to see if the Brit would wake up if he kissed him on the lips like in the movie Sleeping Beauty. Luckily for them both of them, Arthur woke up before he reached the bedside.

Arthur stretched and blinked a few times, remembering what had happened the day before. The Brit looked at Alfred. "How's Matthew? Is he okay?" he asked with concern.

Alfred grinned. "He's fine! He woke up about an hour ago. But what about you? You feeling alright?"

Arthur blushed slightly from the question he was asked, though Alfred took no notice. "I-I'm fine. Just a bit sore though . . ."

"Hey! I have an idea! It's nice out today so why don't we go for a walk? There's a trail that leads to this huge clearing in the woods." Alfred suggested, though not really knowing why.

"Hm? Alright. Let me get dressed and I'll be out in a minute." The Brit agreed as he climbed out of bed. Alfred nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him. '_Yes! Some time alone with Arthur! Maybe . . . Maybe I can build up enough courage to tell him._'The American thought excitedly.

The two left as soon as Arthur was ready. The trail that led to the clearing in the woods was behind the lodge and not as overgrown as Arthur thought it would be. Though there was quite a bit of snow covering the trail, making it hard to follow.

It had snowed again that night, adding about another inch or two to the snow cover that was previously there; while walking though the snow, it must have went well past the two college student's ankles. But, as Alfred had stated before, it was nice out. The sun was shining and there were only a few clouds. Though it was still pretty chilly and it seemed to be too quiet.

Neither Arthur or Alfred took notice of the last part though.

Alfred led the way though the trail as Arthur followed close behind. It wasn't until awhile later when Arthur realized that there were no bird singing or sign of animal life. As the Brit opened his mouth to say something, he spotted something moving in the corner of his eye. But when he looked over to see what it was, he couldn't find what could have been moving in the white forest. Furrowing his eyebrows together, he returned to following Alfred.

After 15 minutes of walking, tripping, snowball fights, and laughing, the two reached the large clearing that they were looking for. In the middle of the clearing was a evergreen covered with snow and next to it was a fallen tree that would make a perfect place to sit. There were two cardinals on one of the branches of the evergreen. The snow was also sparkling from the sunlight making the scenery stunning.

"Wow." Arthur said in amazement, for he had thought that it wouldn't be as great as Alfred had made it out to be. Alfred grinned at the Brit and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the fallen tree. The Brit blushed and stumbled a bit as Alfred led him towards the middle of the clearing. The two sat down next to each other, still holding hands, and were silent for a moment.

Alfred chewed on the inside of his lip lightly, deciding whether he should do what he's been wanting to do for a very long time.

Arthur was looking around the clearing still, noticing that the two cardinals had flown away suddenly and that an eerie silence was settling. '_Maybe I'm just paranoid . . ._' He thought, suspicious of the strange quietness of the forest. '_Still. Something doesn't feel right . . . I should tell Alfred._'

"Alfred-"

"Arthur-"

The boys blinked after saying each others names at the same time, then laughed. "You go first, Alfred." The Brit said with a grin.

Alfred nodded and took a deep breath. '_No turning back now._' thought the American. "Arthur . . . Well . . . I have something to tell you . . ." he started, looking to the side, a blush forming on his face. After a moment of pause, Alfred took both of Arthur's hands in his and looked at him sincerely. "I love-"

Just as Alfred was about to finish his sentience, a loud crack was heard in the tree above them, causing the two college students to look up to find Kiku standing on the edge of a branch. He had his katana with him and was wearing the same outfit that Arthur had seen him wear the morning before.

"Kiku? What are you doing here?" Arthur asked, standing up. Kiku said nothing though and jumped down, landing in front of them. Then, Arthur noticed Kiku's eyes.

His normally normally brown eyes were clouded and darker; almost black. Arthur could have sworn that there was a hint crimson. Kiku moved into a fighting position, readying his katana for an attack. The Brit stepped back and Alfred stood up.

"Alfred. I suggest that we run." He said, calmly and quietly. Kiku glanced towards Alfred quickly and then back to Arthur. But the Brit caught this motion. "Alfred, _run_!"

Alfred, still confused and a bit frightened, did as he was told and started to run towards the path. Before Kiku could run after him though, Arthur managed to tackle the Japanese man and hold him down, knocking his katana out of his hands in the process. "Kiku! Listen, you're possessed!" Arthur exclaimed, struggling to keep his friend down. "Snap out of it!"

The two wrestled for a minute or two before the possessed Kiku was able to kick Arthur off, resulting in Arthur landing in the snow painfully. Once he recovered from the blow, Arthur found that Kiku was gone, his footprints in the snow leading to wear Alfred was running. '_Hopefully,_' Arthur thought as he stood up,brushing the snow off of him, '_Alfred will be able to get to the lodge in time and get help from the others. I better go after them_'

As Arthur began to run towards the path, something tripped him and the Brit landed face first in to the snow. "Ow . . . Bloody hell." he muttered, pushing himself off the snowy forest floor. Before he could stand up and find the object that tripped him, Arthur was kicked in the side hard enough to send him flying and land roughly on the fallen tree. The Brit groaned in pain as he recovered from the sudden attack and pushed himself into an up right position.

He winced from the pain that he felt in his rib cage and back. _'Bloody hell. I think that caused a few ribs to break. Fuck . . . What the hell was that anyways?' _he wondered, looking up to see who had kicked him. As he did this however, he only caught a glimpse of a black cloak before a hand gloved hand appeared and grabbed his throat, pinning him to the tree he landed on and choking him.

Arthur gasped loudly and his hands immediately shot up to pull the hand that was choking him off. As he clawed at the strong hand and kicked his attacker, Arthur looked up to identify the man even though he had a good idea who. Looming above him was the black cloaked figure and if he could see his face, Arthur was sure that there would be a crazed grin on his face.

"Y-you . . . !" the Blond gasped, starting to feel numb.

"You've dodged death far to many times, Kirkland. It's time to die." the cloaked figure chuckled darkly, and to Arthur's horror, his voice was the same as his own. "But . . ." His hand's grip loosened and the blond coughed, taking in as much air as he could. "Where's the fun in just killing you? I want to make you suffer."

"W-what are you?" Arthur panted, trying to think of a way to escape.

"Hm? Well, most people would call me a clone or a doppelganger. But I prefer being called a Fetch." the creature stated. "Speaking of which, I think I'll keep my hood down for this job." The Fetch did so, pulling his hood off revealing Arthur's face. The doppelganger smirked as the real Arthur scowled. "Such a pretty face. I've almost grown fond of it. Seeing as I've looked like you ever since I tried to kill you. And this job wouldn't have taken so long if you hadn't pulled that little escape stunt." the Fetch frowned.

"I was on penalty until now." The Arthur look alike noticed his victim trying to inch away slowly and smirked. He put his foot on Arthur chest and pressed down, causing the injured blond to gasp in pain and writhe. The doppelganger leaned in close to Arthur and pulled out a sharp dagger from his cloaking, holding it dangerously close to the blond's cheek.

"And now I finally get to kill you after all these years." he purred. "And paint your body with burns, cuts, gashes, and _blood_." The dagger was then pressed against the Brit's cheek, and slowly, drew a line downward causing Arthur to wince.

"J-just you wait." Arthur growled, gaining enough courage to talk back. "I'll escape you again somehow. And this time, I'll get rid of you for good!"

The doppelganger frowned and pressed down hard on his victim's chest and Arthur cried out in pain; hearing his bones crack. When he let up on the pressure, the doppelganger found that Arthur was still conscious. Not only that, but he was smirking, determined to make it though whatever torture the Fetch had in store for him.

Said Fetch chuckled darkly. "Seems like I'm going to have some fun with you, Kirkland."

* * *

Le gasp! Cue the dramatic music!

ANYWAYS. Poor Alfred! Just when he was about to confess his love, they get attacked! Oh. And poor Arthur too. xD

But! I do have to tell you that after this chapter, there's only two left! D: I know. It's quite sad. But we have quite a while till then. Also, can you guys tell me if this chapter was boring or not? Cause I just have this feeling that it's not all that exciting. . _ . But that might just be me. I don't know.

So! Review please and I'll give you two kick ass fanfiction chapters!


	9. To the Death

IT IS HERE. The suspenseful chapter you've all been waiting for! CHAPTER 8.

* * *

Alfred dashed though the forest as fast as he could. When Arthur had commanded him to run, Alfred couldn't help but to do what the Brit told him to do. Arthur had been serious when he said that, more serious than Alfred had even seen him. The American then thought of Kiku, the way his friend looked at him, the way the temperature dropped when he had appeared.

Alfred shuddered at the thought and stopped. He was out of breath and he was no longer on the pathway. Alfred sighed, deciding that he was lost. The blond leaned against the tree.

"What am I doing? I shouldn't be running! I'm the hero! I should be helping Arthur!" he thought aloud, frowning. Alfred thought over this for a moment and came to a decision. "I'm going to go save Arthur!" he exclaimed, starting to run the way that he thought was correct. But before he could get anywhere, Kiku suddenly appeared in front of him. "Whoa!" Alfred stumbled back, surprised, and fell to the ground.

Kiku's eyes were mostly crimson with a small hint of his original eye color. He was showing no emotion what so ever and had his katana in his hand, ready to strike Alfred. But, the strike never came and the two just stared at each other. "Tachiagaru." Kiku said, his voice eerie, breaking the silence.

Alfred blinked. "What?"

"Watashi ga 'tachiagaru' to iimashita!" the possessed Japanese man said, his katana now just inches away from cutting open Alfred's neck. Alfred held his breath and stood up slowly, hoping that he was doing what Kiku wanted. _'I have to go help Arthur! But to do that, I'll have to hurt Kiku. Maybe I can just knock him out? I'll have to get that katana out of his hand though. And that won't be easy. Maybe I can snap him out of the state he's in?'_ Alfred thought, staring at the katana threatening his life and occasionally glancing at his friend. _'What's he waiting for?'_

Alfred cleared his throat softly, taking a chance. "K-Kiku? It's me! Alfred! Your best friend?" the American said nervously, watching Kiku for any sign of recognition. None. Alfred chewed on his lower lip. "Wh-why don't you just put down the katana for a bit, okay? Let's talk about this!" Kiku made no move to lower the weapon. In fact, Alfred could have sworn that it moved _closer_ to his neck. 'There has to be something that gets to him . . . I know!'

"Kiku! What about your boyfriend? Heracles?" Alfred asked desperately

Fortunately for Alfred, the crimson in Kiku's eyes disappeared and his eyes appeared less clouded. "H-Heracles?"

Alfred nodded. "What would he think if you hurt me? Besides, you don't want to hurt your best friend r-right?"

After hearing what his American friend said, Kiku realized what he was doing and lowered the katana. "I'm sorry, Alfred! I-I don't know what came over me."

Alfred grinned and hugged Kiku. "It's fine. I think you were possessed or something. Are you feeling okay though?"

Kiku nodded. "Y-yes. A bit tired though."

The blond nodded, understanding. "Right, well. Head back to the house okay? And keep thinking about Heracles. I'll be back in a bit, I need to find Arthur." He said.

"Here. Take this, just in case." Kiku said, holding out the katana and a piece of paper with writing on it.

Taking the katana and the paper he asked, "What's this paper?"

"If I was possessed, then we're dealing with a demon. No doubt it the thing that killed Yao, Arthur's mother, and almost Matthew. That, is a seal that will help you attack it. Just wrap it around the hilt." Kiku explained, watching Alfred follow his instructions. Once he was done attaching the seal, Alfred nodded at Kiku.

"Thanks." And with that, he ran off towards the clearing.

"This if fun! I'm surprised that you can still move, Kirkland! Ha!" Arthur's doppelganger shouted excitedly, watching his victim quickly dodge the dagger he threw. Arthur, painfully and hurriedly, managed to reach the edge of the clearing and hide behind the tree. What he wouldn't give to get advice from one of his older brothers. All three of them knew how to get rid of something like a Fetch.

Arthur could remember one phrase that his brother Sean told him that was supposed to keep demons away. But only temporarily. Besides, was a Fetch considered a demon?

"Come out and play, Kirkland! Show me your face so that I can throw this dagger at it!" Arthur heard the Fetch call, tauntingly.

Yes. In this case, a Fetch is considered a demon.

_'Alright. This will give me a few minutes. So I'll have to make a break for it into the woods. Hopefully this will work.'_ he thought, preparing himself to run from his cover. "Bí Demon imithe!" he yelled, loud enough so that his attack could hear, then taking of quickly. The Brit ran though the trees, stumbling every now and then over a hidden root or a rock, hoping that he could at least succeed in escaping so that he could recover.

After running for what seemed like forever, Arthur had to stop to catch his breath and to ease the excruciating pain in his chest. The blond leaned against a tree, panting. "H-hopefully that held him off."

"Not quite."

Out of nowhere, a dagger appeared and stabbed his thigh. Arthur cried out in pain and surprise as his now injured leg gave out, causing him to collapse. The dagger was then pulled out and Arthur let out another yell. Arthur looked up to find the Fetch looking down on him, holding the knife and licking it clean of the fresh blood.

"Mm . . . Maybe I should break you legs to. You're full of surprises after all, Arthur." his doppelganger said, a sadistic smirk plastered on his face.

"G-go to hell . . ." Arthur growled, pulling of the best scowl and glare he could manage.

The Fetch merely laughed. "The next time I step though the gates of hell, Kirkland, it'll be with your soul in my hands. And you'll forever be one of my slaves like you mother, Yao, and your little American boyfriend!"

"A-Alfred? No! He wouldn't be killed so easily by the likes of you!" Arthur exclaimed, trying to stand, only to be shoved back down by his clone.

"Are you so sure of that?" the Fetch asked, leaning in towards Arthur's face. "Right about now, your little boyfriend is somewhere in this woods, being carved up by my little Japanese servant~."

"You're wrong!" the Brit yelled, refusing to believe the demon.

"Am I? Well, let's find out shall we?" the doppelganger said, grabbing his dagger. "First, I'm going to break both your arms and legs. Then, after I watch you writhe in even more pain, I'll cut out your heart!" the demon explained, grinning like the devil himself.

"Like hell you will!"

Arthur blinked, surprised by the sudden outburst and the fact that the demon was no longer looming over him. Unable to see what was going on, Arthur sat up painfully and leaned against the tree for support. Looking over to his right to find Alfred holding Kiku's katana and pointing it at the Fetch who seemed to have been tackled to the ground. "Alfred?"

"You alright, Arthur?" Alfred asked, not taking his eyes off of the demon.

"N-not really. But why do you have Kiku's sword?" the Brit asked.

"He said that with this I could kill this freak! Cool huh?" Alfred said.

By the now, Arthur's doppelganger had recovered and was now standing up. He laughed. "You? Take me out with a simple katana such as that? You must be out of your mind boy."

"Am I? Let's find out shall we?" the American said before attacking. The demon, obviously putting this aside as a weak attempt, tried to block the katana with his hand, but to both the clone's surprise and the real Arthur's surprise, the katana cut the palm of hand. There was no blood seeping out of the wound but the Fetch hissed as if touching the katana burned him.

Alfred grinned with confidence. "See? Told you it would work!"

The Fetch growled, "You'll pay for that, human!" With that, the demon disappeared and Alfred put up his guard, preparing for what the Fetch had planned. When the Fetch appeared again, it was behind Alfred. Before Arthur could warn Alfred, the doppelganger grabbed the American's blond hair and pulled him back, putting his dagger to his throat.

From the surprise attack, the katana was knocked from Alfred's hands and landed in the snow near Arthur. The Brit looked at the Japanese weapon and then at Alfred and the Fetch, noting that they had their backs towards him.

The Fetch chuckled darkly. "Well, looks like I get the pleasure of killing two humans today! But don't worry, I'll make sure you to go to-" the doppelganger was cut off as he suddenly found the katana cutting though his shoulder and where his heart would have been if he had one. The demon howled with pain and let go of Alfred before falling to the ground. Behind him was Arthur, clutching the sword in his hand and leaning on a near by tree.

"Don't . . . touch him." Arthur panted. Alfred rushed over to his friend to help him but Arthur rejected his help. The Brit limped over to the fallen demon and stabbed the uninjured shoulder. "This, is for making this year a living hell and for what ever bloody happened all those years ago." Arthur growled as the demon writhed. Take the katana out of the shoulder, he stabbed the demon's back. "This is for possessing my friend, killing my mother and a friend of mine, and for almost killing another friend of me."

Finally, he held the weapon's point over the Fetch's neck. "And this is for trying to kill Alfred." he stated as he lodged the katana into the demon's neck.

The Fetch then let out a loud, shill noise as he began to twitch and move. When the noise ended, the Fetch turned into a gray ash. Arthur let out a long sigh of relief, almost thinking that this was all a dream. Alfred hurried over to the Brit to help keep him up.

"It's over." Arthur said with relief.

Alfred nodded. "Come on, we really need to get you to the lodge." he said, worriedly.

Arthur nodded in response but didn't move. "Sorry, but you'll have to carry me, I feel a bit . . ." Before he could finish his sentence, Arthur fainted and, luckily, Alfred was there to catch him. Hoisting him up into his arms, the American blond carried his British friend bridal style and hurried off towards the lodge.

* * *

I'm so proud of myself for writing this. xD You guys better thank Missouri weather cause this wouldn't be here if I didn't have a snow day today. And we'll have another one on Thursday because of an incoming snowstorm! So there may or may not be an update. Muhahahaa.

Anyways. Please review and the last chapter (( SAD FACE. D: )) will be posted relatively soon.

Watashi ga 'tachiagaru' to iimashita - I said 'get up'!

Tachiagaru - Get up

Bí Demon imithe - Demon be gone ((Creative, I know. xD ))


	10. In the End

Once Alfred successfully found his way out of the woods near the lodge, everything went by fast. One moment, he found his friends running towards him and Arthur who had fallen unconscious and the next he found himself in an ambulance, bandaged up in a few places, and watching the paramedics treat Arthur and make sure they get him into a somewhat stable state by tending to the obvious wounds. Arthur was in a pretty bad state; he had a large gash in his thigh, probably several broken bones, and several cuts and bruises that were already forming. A paramedic looked over at Alfred and asked, "What the hell happened?"

"Um . . . I just kind of found him like that," Alfred lied, not really sure if that was the right thing to tell them or not. One things for sure, he wasn't going to tell them what really happened.

It seemed like it would take forever to reach the nearest hospital. But finally, the ambulance pulled up to the emergency side of the hospital, when they opened the doors, a several doctors and nurses arrived with a stretcher and rushed him inside, the paramedics and Alfred following close behind. The paramedics explained the situation quickly and then, Arthur had been taken into surgery and Alfred was forced to wait in the waiting room.

After about an hour of waiting, Francis, Matthew, and Kiku joined him and they found him pacing the room. The three looked at each other as they took a seat and they silently agreed that no one right now could be as anxious or worried as Alfred.

It's been an hour. Who knows what was going on in there?

Another hour or so passes and Alfred decided to take a seat next to his brother. Only now, he was tapping his foot impatiently and was constantly running his fingers through his hair. Right before Matthew was about to say something to comfort the blond next to him, a doctor came into the waiting room. "I suppose you all are here for Arthur Kirkland?" he asked.

Alfred stood up quickly and nodded, "Is he alright?"

"Yes, but he's still unconscious and it might take him a day or two to wake up." the man said.

"May we go see him?" Kiku asked.

The doctor nodded and told them the room number he was in. The group left the waiting room and headed to the room Arthur was in. Alfred was the first to enter the room and gasped when he saw Arthur.

The Brit was had several IVs hooked to him and he had bandages all around his chest and the leg that had been stabbed. There was also a oxygen mask over Arthur's mouth and nose. The only sound in the room was the steady beeping coming from the heart monitor and Arthur's shallow breathing. The four gathered around Arthur's bed and they stayed silent. Every now and then, they would talk a bit, sometimes to Arthur.

Eventually, Matthew, Kiku, and Francis left. They had asked if Alfred was coming but he said that he would stay a bit longer.

Alfred did stay a bit longer. _Much_ longer actually. The American had been allowed to stay by Arthur side for the entire night thanks to a nurse who took pity on the poor, worrying blond. And so he did, only dosing off for a minute or two in his chair before jolting himself awake. In the time alone with Arthur, Alfred talked to him as if they were having a regular conversation, remembering Matthew saying something about patients in comas being able to hear conversations.

As the American told his stories and lame jokes, he held the Brit's hand as if it was a lifeline; squeezing the hand slightly, running his thumb across the top of it or across his palm, and at one point, even kissing the hand lightly as if Arthur was apart of the royal family.

At around dawn, Alfred's mood became a bit more cheerful when he noticed that Arthur's breathing sounded normal for the most part and he grinned when the heart monitor sped up for a split second, showing Alfred that Arthur was reacting to his comment about how faeries weren't real. Now completely reassured that Arthur would be fine if he left for a couple of minutes, Alfred went down to the hospital's cafeteria to get himself a cup of coffee.

On the third day of staying by Arthur's side, Alfred was finally forced to return to the lodge to get some decent sleep; even if meant having Matthew force sleeping pills down his throat. Luckily, Alfred cooperated and slept till the next morning. And about 5 minutes after the American had woken up, the college students received a call from the hospital. Arthur was finally awake.

Upon hear the news, Alfred sprinted outside and into the back seat of the truck, whining to the others about how slow they are and that if they don't hurry up, he'd leave with out them. Upon hearing Alfred's threat, Francis, Kiku, and Matthew all looked at each other and paled at the thought of Alfred speeding recklessly to the hospital. All three of them ran to the truck and Francis got into the drivers seat and took keys from Alfred before he could do anything.

When Alfred entered the room and saw Arthur sitting up, completely awake, he almost tackled the Brit before controlling himself. Instead, he ran up to Arthur and gave him a hug that was just a little too tight.

"Ack! Alfred, that hurts!" Arthur complained, wincing slightly.

Alfred, realizing that he was hurting the Brit, quickly released his hold and grinned sheepishly. "Oops. Sorry."

Arthur shook his head but smiled, "Good to see you too."

By then, everyone was around Arthur's bed and began talking to him at once, telling him how worried they were, that they were glad to see that he was okay.

After awhile, Arthur cut into their conversations, "Hey, could I talk to Alfred alone please?"

Everyone nodded, Francis sending smirk in Alfred's direction, and went out into the hall way. Once the door was shut Alfred turned towards Arthur. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I . . . I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other day," the Brit said, "If you hadn't have showed up in time . . . Well, I probably wouldn't be here right now. I also wanted to say sorry about dragging you into that whole mess."

Alfred shook his head and replied, "As long as what ever that thing was is gone and you're alright, it's fine."

There was a pause for a moment before Arthur spoke up, "Alfred, what were you going to say while we were in the woods? Before we got attacked."

"Hm? Oh . . . Um," Alfred scratched the back of his head, know that he couldn't avoid the question. "Well . . .You see Arthur . . . I just want to tell you that . . . Th-that I love you. And I really mean it. I do. A-and I was hoping that you feel the same?" By now, a light blush had snuck onto both of the blond's faces. Alfred was now looking off to the side, somewhat embarrassed about how lame his confession was.

Again, there was another silence in which Arthur broke once again. "You git. I love you too," Arthur muttered, just loud enough for Alfred to hear. Alfred grinned excitedly.

"Really? You do?"

The blush on Arthur's face had grew by now and he was now looking off to the side. "Yes. I-I really do love you . . . How many times do I have to say it to get it through your thick head!" He scowled, causing Alfred to laugh and then lean in close to Arthur, catching the Brit's lips with his, kissing him before pulling away. Once Arthur realized what just happened, he threw his arms around his new boyfriend's neck and kissed him again, this time longer and with a bit more passion.

When they pulled away once more, Arthur found that he was feeling instantly better. He felt lighter in a way; the feeling of death and fear that he had been feeling for the last few months had disappeared. He no longer felt threatened by a supernatural force out to finish some unfinished business and while he wasn't able to save his mother or Yao, he was able to save three of his friends, one now his lover, from the clutches of death.

* * *

Two things. One, I need to work on endings cause I don't think this is very good! I should be punished for presenting this crap to such an amazing audience like yourselves. And two, it's over! D: I'm sad but so proud of myself. This is the first multi-chapter fanfic that I've finished!

Well, thank you all for reading! Now, I must bid you adieu.

Note: For the people who are waiting for me to update Changeling: Changeling is now my top priority! And I'll be posting the next chapter as soon as possible now that I've been inspired thanks to the movie Beastly. By the way, it's a really good movie.


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